Fifty Moments Between First Kiss and Life
by BrokenChosenofEva
Summary: Fifty thoughts, fifty scenes. Fifty times Hikari and Kensuke remember. Following the two through the original series and my "Returned" AU, other AUs possible. Second in the "One Hundred Moments Frozen in Time" series.
1. First Kiss with a Stranger

**Neon Genesis Evangelion**  
><strong>Fifty Moments Frozen in Time<strong>  
><strong>By BrokenChosenofEva<strong>

**0**  
><strong>0<strong>

Title: First Kiss with a Stranger  
>Prompt: set 50-A  prompts 001-010  
>Word Count: 1k+<br>Rating: T  
>Summary: Fifty thoughts, fifty scenes. Fifty times Hikari and Kensuke remember. Following the two through the original series and my "Returned" AU, other AUs possible.<p>

Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion

Notes: I couldn't stop myself, just had to keep following Hikari and Kensuke! This, also, is for you _**Tasermon's Partner**_, my Dearest Reader.

Second in the "One Hundred Moments Frozen in Time" series.

0  
>1<br>2  
>3<p>

001. First Kiss  
>Hikari was never sure that Kensuke could remember when they first met in primary school at ten-years-old, and on some level she supposed she didn't want him to, the memory was embarrassing but sweet, and she recalled it not long after she kissed him at the end of their third date; she'd been shy and scared, not knowing anyone at the school, and Kensuke -bookish then instead of an Otaku- had held her hand and lead her around the whole day, ending with an innocent kiss before dashing off to his waiting parents.<p>

002. Final  
>Exams had been stressful, all the more for the pointed and painful lack of Touji and the need to prod him into studying, and on some level finding out Kensuke had aced the finals was bittersweet, because she knew her only remaining childhood friend would be leaving for NERV Officer School in a couple of weeks and she didn't know if she'd be able to see him after that, but she was proud of him as well knowing he was pursuing his dreams.<p>

003. Numb  
>Kensuke felt so numb after hearing Touji had died, mind frozen in a painful circle of denial and acceptance, and while he was glad he found Hikari in her recovery room with only minor burns, scraps and bruises, when he stepped up to her and she grabbed him into a hug like he was going to disappear at any moment he broke, tears pouring from his eyes to match her own, and they held each other like the world was ending.<p>

004. Broken Wings  
>For a while Kensuke had been worried Hikari was just going through the motions, finishing college and working in a café like she'd wanted, but he'd know her long enough to know she was hurting, and it hurt that he could think of nothing he could do to help her, forced to watch her struggle with her broken wings and only able to offer his presence once he returned from Officer School and was stationed at NERV Tokyo-3.<p>

005. Melody  
>Kensuke sat at the table with his coffee, silently enjoying the sound of Hikari's voice as she waddled around the kitchen six-months pregnant, alternately humming and singing a happy tune they'd heard on the radio when they'd left her check-up last week, the woman unaware of her captive audience.<p>

006. Rules  
>His military training, even if it wasn't technically considered true military being that NERV was considered a PMC, had instilled the importance of rules and following them, but for Hikari he'd always made an exception, allowing his friend to use Touji's Pilot Access to enter the base to visit him or the Cages to stare at Unit-Three, and the revelation she'd brought one evening when she'd visited Unit-One instead had given them the final piece to retrieving Shinji and made the risk worth it.<p>

007. Chocolate  
>Kensuke stared at the box of chocolates, blinking in a moment of confusion before snapping out of it and taking them from Hikari's outstretched hands, smiling at her as she took the seat across from him while he sat in a booth at her café, a mix of surprise and happiness at a gesture they hadn't exchanged in decades.<p>

008. Nostalgia  
>Kensuke didn't drink anymore and Hikari didn't cry, time having turned once painful memories of their lost friend to moments of shared nostalgia, content to sit beside each other at the Over-Look under an ancient oak tree and reminisce.<p>

009. Heartbeat  
>Hikari felt dampness on her cheeks, the sense of awe and wonder mixing with a joy so powerful that it poured out in her smile and tears, as she and Kensuke listened to the fast little heartbeat picked up by the ultrasound and watched as the first imagines of their child appeared on the screen beside them, the doctor smiling with them as he asked if they wanted the gender to be a surprise.<p>

010. Stranger  
>Walking through NERV for the first time in centuries, Kensuke couldn't calm the knot in his chest as he encountered new faces around every corner, and looking over the renovated Central Dogma from what had been his desk lifetimes ago he finally let out a shuddering breath as he sat in the Commander's chair and put his face in his hands, remembering again the reason he rarely came here, hating the feeling of being a stranger in what had once been his own home.<p>

3  
>2<br>1  
>0<p>

A/N: I honestly couldn't help myself. lol

This and the first Fifty Moments are a 100 Prompts collection I'm calling "One Hundred Moments Frozen in Time", previously called "Fifty Moment Between Horaki and Aida". I hope you enjoy this second leg of the journey.

PMC stands for Private Military Contractor/Corporation, basically civilian agencies that provided well-trained armed personnel for escort and site defense among other services. Search it for more/better info.

The Over-Look is the same spot on the side of a hill/mountain overlooking Tokyo-3 that I've mentioned time and again, an oak tree slightly off to the side and the road behind with an area just large enough for a pair of cars to park and a guard rail at the edge.


	2. Confusing Tomorrow

**Neon Genesis Evangelion**  
><strong>Fifty Moments Frozen in Time<strong>  
><strong>By BrokenChosenofEva<strong>

**0**  
><strong>0<strong>

Title: Confusing Tomorrows  
>Prompt: set 50-A  prompts 011-020  
>Word Count: 1,100+<br>Rating: T  
>Summary: Fifty thoughts, fifty scenes. Fifty times Hikari and Kensuke remember. Following the two through the original series and my "Returned" AU, other AUs possible.<p>

Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion

Notes: I spoke to soon, Tasermon's Partner, first prompt in this chapter and the idea for a Kensuke meets Touji popped up. lol

Second in the "One Hundred Moments Frozen in Time" series.

0  
>1<br>2  
>3<p>

011. Confusion  
>Kensuke looked at the boy standing protectively between him and the school-yard bullies who had been harrassing him, confused as to why the bigger boy would be helping him until he yelled at the others, "Ya betteh leave my friend alone, or I'll tell duh class-rep," which sent the two others from their class scurrying off before he turned around and Kensuke recognized him as Touji, "Hikari's my friend too, Glasses, so I gotta keep yuz safe too."<p>

012. Bitter  
>He was not bitter, not a bit, that Hikari was spending more time with their friend Touji instead of him; they're in middle school, he had nothing to be bitter about, and he totally understood how cool the other boy was -after all they were <em>all three<em> best friends- especially compared to him, when all he did was read military history and help Hikari get Touji to study, and Touji was into sports and stuff.

013. Afterlife  
>"Will I see you there?" the old woman on the bed whispered, lids closed over sightless grey eyes, as Hikari held a wrinkled hand in her own smooth ones, tears pouring from her eyes as she answered, "Of course you will, we'll be right behind you; we just have to make sure everyone else gets there too, just like when we would visit Asuka and Shinji," the old woman sighed, relieved, and smiled through her last words, "Okay, mama; don't take too long."<p>

014. Daybreak  
>Since joining NERV Kensuke always rose before the sun, so it was a wonderful surprise one morning when Hikari woke up at her normal time to prepare for the day and found Kensuke still asleep beside her, his first morning off since they'd married, and she watched him sleep as the morning sun washed over Tokyo-3.<p>

015. Audience  
>Ever since the night Asuka had used her AT-Field to share a memory with her, Hikari had become acutely aware of when people she cared about were close-by, and used this to her advantage whenever Kensuke was around; she knew he enjoyed hearing her voice, so when she felt him approaching one morning when she had let herself inside his apartment to make him breakfast for his birthday after they'd been dating for a year, she started humming a song, enjoying having him for a captive audience while she cooked.<p>

016. Endless Sorrow  
>Hikari laid in bed, the hospital sheets itchy against her skin but ignored, feeling like she was drowning as the scene of Touji running to her and being swallowed by a ball of fire kept playing over and over in her mind as tears continued to flow from her eyes, and when Kensuke entered the room, his empty eye's filling with relief at seeing her, she grabbed him with all the strength she could gather when he was in reach and cried unashamedly into his shoulder, feeling like the sorrow would never end.<p>

017. Fireworks  
>"Mama, Papa, fireworks!" the five-year-old girl cheered as the first flashes filled the sky and were soon followed by the boom and crackle of each spread of twinkling fire, and Hikari shared a smile with Kensuke as he held their daughter on his shoulders and she held the hand of their two-year-old, the little boy watching with wide-open eyes glinting in wonder.<p>

018. Wishing  
>When they were younger, still in middle school but preparing to move up to junior-high, the three of them made a promise and wished on a star to always be friends and to stay in touch no matter what; years later, after befriending Shinji and later Asuka, after living through the Angel Wars, Hikari recalled the promise they'd made during Touji's funeral and broke down, crying hard into Kensuke's shoulder and sobbing out the wish they'd made, and hearing her words slammed into Kensuke and pulled tears from his eyes to match the river flowing from hers.<p>

019. Happy Birthday to You  
>They had long out-grown celebrating their own birthdays, the accomplishment of surviving Post-Impact wore off when living for centuries, but they always made sure to surprise their children with a party and a few gifts, ending the day with a cake Hikari had made in their kitchen.<p>

020. Tomorrow  
>Hikari looked at three -no four, she could barely see them- faint white lines across her left wrist, remembering the years following Touji's death and all the nights she cried herself to sleep or spent in front of a mirror, often with something sharp in her right hand, but also remembering one night when she'd woken from a nightmare and forgotten Kensuke was spending the night after a long study session for a test coming up before the end of their junior year in college, and was never more glad than now for him hearing her sobs and coming in to hold her until the sun rose.<p>

3  
>2<br>1  
>0<p>

A/N: Prompt 016. "Endless Sorrow" was a hard one, as I'd done a few dealing with how the pair handled losing Touji, but then I realized I hadn't done one from Hikari's perspective of the Hospital Scene.

Prompt 018. "Wishing" was another hard one because I knew I wanted to have them share a promise, but wasn't sure how to go about it. Then I thought of "wishing on a star", and it flowed from there.

Prompt 020. "Tomorrow" was difficult not because I _didn't_ know what to write, but because of _what_ I was writing about. Suicide is a terrifying topic to me because of how much I value the life of the people I know and love.  
>This prompt occurs after the end of chapter four of my story "Returned", as Hikari is preparing for another date with Kensuke.<p>

Sorry for all the Angst/Tragedy in this one, though I know there was plenty in the last set of fifty. I hope it was bittersweet, and worth reading, especially 020. "Tomorrow". I want anyone who reads it to know that, just like Hikari, there is always a brighter tomorrow waiting if you hold on and reach out to people around you. If you're the one being reached out towards, then reach back and hold tight, and don't ever let go. We aren't meant to handle the world alone, it isn't weakness, so don't let yourself or others be alone. To paraphrase Prompt 003. "Sanctuary" from the Asuka/Touji series, "...needing [help]...is about wisdom and not weakness".


	3. Oppression Underneath

**Neon Genesis Evangelion**  
><strong>Fifty Moments Frozen in Time<strong>  
><strong>By BrokenChosenofEva<strong>

**0**  
><strong>0<strong>

Title: Oppression Underneath  
>Prompt: set 50-A  prompts 021-030  
>Word Count: 800+<br>Rating: T  
>Summary: Fifty thoughts, fifty scenes. Fifty times Hikari and Kensuke remember. Following the two through the original series and my "Returned" AU, other AUs possible.<p>

Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion

Notes:

Third in the "One Hundred Moments Frozen in Time" series.

0  
>1<br>2  
>3<p>

021. Oppression  
>The years following Touji's death held Hikari in an oppressive cycle of depression and self-blame, interspersed with soul wounding sorrow, and she sometimes wondered even years later how she had ever managed to climb out of those dark day, but a glance at Kensuke reminded her she hadn't so much climbed as she was pulled out.<p>

022. Agony  
>Agony always thrummed through him when he watched Hikari accept their children's last breath, the pain fresh each time a beloved child died before them no matter the reason, and each time he buried it while comforting her, waiting until they were home before allowing his own sorrow to overcome him and let Hikari be the one to give comfort.<p>

023. Return  
>Kensuke shared a brilliant, tear-filled smile with Hikari as they watched Asuka greet the newly returned Shinji, both of them having missed the other Pilot almost as much as the redhead had, and feeling like the world really was right once more.<p>

024. Protection  
>Hikari was mortified at the item sitting in the bottom of the box Asuka had given her for her bridal shower, staring at her grinning friend with her jaw on the floor, before her shocked expression shifted to angry and she leapt across the room screaming how indecent it was.<p>

025. Boxes  
>The number of boxes astounded Kensuke as he and Hikari sorted through them on the living-room floor of their new house, but he dared not point out how many of them were full of his wife's things, knowing he really shouldn't be surprised; Hikari was a woman moving into her first real house with her husband, of course she would have brought all the things she'd have wanted or thought she needed for what was a massive milestone in both their lives.<p>

026. Hope  
>Hikari knew that sometimes having hope hurt, she'd watched Asuka enough before Shinji's return to know, but even centuries later -after watching so many of their children die- Hikari found that hope was the first and brightest feeling to flare in her heart as she shared a smile with Kensuke when she told him she was pregnant.<p>

027. Preparation  
>"I hate these things," Hikari looked up from her 'comfy chair' sitting in the corner under the sun-filled bay window in their living-room at Kensuke's vehemently whispered comment, watching him studiously ignoring both her and the small instruction booklet beside his knees as he worked to assemble the infant crib, giggling as she said, "I told you to use the instructions."<p>

028. Beautiful  
>They say "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", and every time Kensuke looked at his wife, every time he looked at their children, no matter how many years -and then centuries- passed them by, he saw the same thought in their eyes echoing back: I love you, and you're beautiful.<p>

029. Lies  
>"You don't mind it that I'm spending time with Touji-kun, do you Ken-chan?" Kensuke fought to keep his expression controlled and neutral, something he was good at from dealing with bullies before Touji became his friend last year, and managed a convincing smile for his best female friend, "Of course not 'Kari-chan, you know I enjoy a little time to myself for reading too."<p>

030. Underneath  
>While it often bothered Hikari to see other react to her immortality, Kensuke always got a small amount of amusement from watching people look him in the eye and sense just how <em>old<em> he was underneath the appearance of a thirty-something year old man, even -or especially- when they already knew he was one of the Immortals that survived Third Impact along with the Pilots, seeing the twitch or jump of realization and jerking back from him when he laughed off whatever comment they tried to make on it.

3  
>2<br>1  
>0<p>

A/N: Prompt 021. "Oppression" was very difficult for me to figure out, I was at a lost as to what to write for it concerning Kensuke and Hikari, then I looked at the dictionary definition.

Prompt 029. "Lies" ties in with Prompt 012. "Bitter", again looking into their life pre-series. Yes, prompt 012 was not written in satire, but Kensuke's serious point-of-view at the time.

Prompt 030. "Underneath" was an odd one to write. I knew -after a fashion- what was going to be written down, but the feel of it seems darker than I think Kensuke is or would be even after centuries alive. Then I remembered that everyone has dark times, moments -or months- where they find themselves rolling in darker emotions, like it's a soothing balm even as it burns them, until someone reaches out and takes hold of them. Which Hikari does for Kensuke. This prompt kind of ties in with Prompt 010. "Stranger".


End file.
